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User blog:Star Voyager/Venusian Challenger (cont.)
More Venusian Challenger: After the briefings, the crew went back to their quarters to suit up in the light-blue NASA coveralls. Jack never liked this idea. The only part of his body that would be pressurized would be his head. The full body pressure suits were discarded after STS-4. In case of a cabin depressurization, they would not last very long. They all met up and started to head out of O n’ C to the Astrovan, the vehicle that took them to the pad. Out of the elevator they all stepped and they started out of the building toward the van. The crowd that was surrounding the van and the outside of the building went wild, cheering and giving thumbs-up to wish the crew a great flight. This was the same few paces that all of the past astronauts took to go in the Astrovan, and they too had the support from this crowd. Some of the crew’s wives were there, and they would soon be on the roof of the Launch Control Center (LCC) with their astronaut escorts watching the launch. While headed to Launch Complex 39A, the crew got their first glimpse of Challenger in the pre-dawn hours. It was a majestic sight to behold; everything seems so ready, thought Jack. This was their trusty steed that would carry them on pillars of fire from the mortal grounds of Terra Firma into the heavens. The twenty minute ride there felt like it was going by in slow motion, but they got to the pad soon enough. The group ascended to where the crew access arm was; at the end of that was the White Room. This is where they would don on their helmets and gloves. The White Room closeout guys would be the last people the crew would see before the hatch was closed. Since Jack was the commander, he went in first. Then slowly, one by one, each crewmember followed, with four strapped in on the flight deck and Pete on the mid-deck. When the hatch was closed, they had about two hours to launch. At T-1 hour and 30 minutes: Orbiter Test Conductor: “''Challenger'', OTC, for the whole crew, comm check.” Jack: “CDR, five by.” John: “PLT.” Frank: “MS1.” Matt: “MS2.” Pete: “PS1.” OTC: “''Challenger'', OTC, we read all you guys loud and clear.” Everything was coming together for liftoff. The countdown clock ticked backwards. When it passed the T-9 minute hold, everyone cheered. “There goes the access arm,” announced John. At T-5 minutes: OTC: “PLT, OTC, perform APU start and CDR, reconfigure heaters.” John: “OTC, PLT, start in work.” Jack: “OTC, CDR, reconfig complete.” John: “OTC, PLT, APU start complete.” After this, the crew waited another three minutes until: OTC: “''Challenger'', OTC, close and lock your visors and start O2 flow.” Jack: “''Challenger'' copies.” The clock passed the one minute mark; then the 45 second mark. We’re really going to do this, Jack mused. At T-31 seconds, they got the “go” for auto-sequence start. This meant that the computer was running the countdown. Jack reminded his crew, “Eyes on the instruments.” Finally, at T-10 seconds, they got the call, “go for main engine start.” Jack’s heart rate shot up parallel to the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) manifold pressures before they started. His mind raced through his year’s worth of training as he felt the thunderous rumbling of Challenger’s three main engines as they started. “Holy…” He never finished. At T-0, twice his body weight was suddenly slammed against him as the Solid Rocket Boosters ignited for the fiery ride to orbit. He nearly fell out of his seat when the stack cleared the tower. The shadows shifted as Challenger rolled to the proper heading to catch up with Skylab. Jack reported to Houston: “Houston, Challenger, roll program!” Capsule Communicator or CAPCOM Joshua Waters responded “Roger rolled, Challenger.” Jack’s eyes were glued to the instrument tapes and indicators, his hands on the stick in case they ran into trouble on ascent. The engines throttled back to 65% as the space shuttle passed through the sound barrier and maximum aerodynamic pressure, dubbed “max-q”. Jack again felt a sinking feeling in his seat. Josh came back on, saying “''Challenger'', Houston, go at throttle up.” “Roger, go at throttle up.” Faster and faster they went, racing through the skies at what seemed like science fiction speeds. When Jack thought it would never end, there was a flash-bang that nearly caught him by surprise. “Good riddance!” said Frank, who was referring to the now-spent SRB’s. The ride was significantly smoother flying on Challenger’s SSME’s. “Feel that mother go!” Pete exclaimed. The rest of the orbital insertion felt to Jack like riding glass. The only indication that the engines where burning were the indicators themselves and the loud noise. But suddenly, everything went silent. He felt a sudden lurch, then a rush in his head. John called out “MECO!” announcing the cutoff of the main engines. “Roger, Challenger, OMS-1 is not required.” Jack knew what that meant. They were in orbit; Challenger had delivered the crew exactly where they needed to be! Now, we just have to get to Skylab, Jack thought. Category:Blog posts